North Carolina beefs up tax breaks as Apple scouts new sites

RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina legislative leaders say they’re committing to an expansion of tax breaks for companies promising thousands of jobs, a move that comes as people familiar with recruitment efforts tell The Associated Press tech giant Apple is strongly considering the state for a new corporate campus.

The state legislature’s top two leaders said Thursday that officials will lower the threshold for so-called “transformative” companies to get massive state subsidies.

A North Carolina government official and an economic development official told The Associated Press that Apple will decide soon whether to build a planned hub near Raleigh. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of business recruitment.

The economic development official said Apple could create 5,000 jobs, with a later target of 10,000 jobs.

Apple declined comment Thursday.